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Hawker Jumpjet
Confederate Hawker Jumpjet "You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead." :- Anonymous Hawker Pilot Tactical Analysis * It's a bird, it’s a plane, NO IT'S A, er... nevermind: The Hawker is a rather oddly shaped VTOL aircraft, and the Confederates' air superiority fighter. The Hawker has a rack of six heat seeking missiles, capable of blasting through aircraft with ease. The Hawker's decent armour also can sustain several hits from flak shells and keep on flying. * All Terrain Landing Capabilities: Additionally, unlike other aircraft, the Hawker can land anywhere and stealth itself with a fibre optic netting, ready to ambush the next enemy that dares to pass. Additionally, the Hawker gets a fire rate boost when popping out of stealth due to the ease of locking on in such a state. * Limited Reserves: However, care must be taken while deploying the Hawker. The Hawker is vulnerable to ground based AA, and also struggles against heavy air, as it usually takes more than six missiles to take down heavy aircraft, thus requiring the Hawker to make multiple passes. Lastly, the Hawker requires reloads often and is very vulnerable when out of ammo due to its slower speed and inability to retaliate. * DIY Repairs: Hawker crews eventually realize that all they need to get the 20mm operating again is a dash of lubricating oil, some ammo and a new gunsight. This gives the Hawker even more firepower and some defensive capabilities when it runs out of missiles. Unfortunately new Hawker pilots generally are over enthusiastic and take time to find out that fact. Operational History The P-55 Hawker Jumpjet was introduced by British aviation company United Aviation in January 1954 as the world's first VTOL aircraft. Before this point, the Soviets had enjoyed massive air superiority due to their field airstrips and the ubiquitous MiG-9 jet fighter, which was faster and more manoeuvrable than the Allies' staple WP-501 Stallions, Vampirs and Nimbuses, and more numerous and closer to the front than the Gic-D Cutlass Ramjet, the most advanced Allied fighter around at the time. Though organic Allied air support was arguably superior, with the Rascal Dive Bomber comparing favourably to the Soviet YaK and the Longbow consistently outperforming the Hind, the risk of a sudden strike from a MiG squadron was ever present. This all changed on February 16th, 1954 when the first Hawker squadron lifted off from a field just five kilometres from the front lines and engaged a larger group of MiG-9 fighters, using their unique manoeuvrability and Rattler missiles, the first heat seeking missiles in history, to devastate three whole squadrons of MiGs with only two losses. With a machine that could land anywhere, change altitudes with frightening speed, and knock out a MiG before it could hope to return fire, the Allies gained air superiority overnight, and the Russians never succeeded in getting it back. The Confederates have captured somewhere just over two thousand Hawkers in various states of disrepair, which they have cobbled together into an unknown number of aircraft, all upgraded with a fibre-optic camouflage system along its broad wings originally designed to hide squadrons close to the front lines in World War II. Having universally applied this upgrade as well as tuning the engines, the Confederate Hawker takes to the air once again, a true jumpjet presenting the bizarre image of a plane that can point in one direction while flying in another. Behind the Scenes * The Hawker is basically an extreme version of the BAE Harrier, inspired in shape by birds of prey (note the beak-like nose). The "Hawker" part of its name comes from the Hawker Hurricane. * The Hawker's ... fruity unit voice may be a reference to the perceived homoeroticism of movies like Top Gun. Reserve Hawker Spectre "Smell that? You smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory." :- Hawker Spectre pilot Tactical Analysis *'Close Air Support': A variant of the venerable Hawker modified for air-to-ground duties, the Hawker Spectre is used to provide close air support for many Reservist militaries. Its primary armament consists of two 20mm autocannons, capable of shredding vehicles and aircraft. *'Napalm in the Morning': In addition to the autocannons, the Hawker Spectre also carries a pair of bombs. Controversially, Hawker Spectres operating in Vietnam are often armed with CBU-45 napalm bombs, which are known for their devastating effects on people and structures. *'Range Limited': The Hawker Spectre is of course, far from perfect as a ground attack craft. Its autocannons, while precise, lack the power to do any real damage to tanks or structures, while the napalm bombs must be reloaded back at an airfield once they have been dropped. *'Crowdpleasers': Some Hawker Spectres are currently trailing 20mm Sol autocannons and explosive ammunition from the Apollo Fighter. These guns not only deal more damage to aircraft, they also add substantial splash and knockback against ground targets. Operational History As the Allies made their plans for the event of a second Soviet invasion following the Second World War, one of the elements they factored into their plans was air support. With the advances in aircraft, it was expected that they would play a pivotal role in slowing down a second attempted invasion, striking at Soviet tank divisions as they crossed the borders into Poland. With air support comprising a key part of any Allied plans for the defence of Europe, the Allied Nations would need capable, high performance ground attack planes to support the ground forces. Though by this time jet fighters already comprised a significant portion of the Allied air force's fighter planes, the best ground attack aircraft in the Allied inventory was still the propeller driven Rascal. A replacement was quickly found; it was decided the the P-55 Hawker would be suited for the task; all that it needed was a more appropriate weapons loadout, and then it would be servicable as a strike aircraft. The A-55D Hawker Spectre would enter service several months after it was conceived, and was snapped up by many Allied member nations for their air forces, though a few countries did go on to develop their own indigenous strike aircraft. The Vindicator would eventually replace the Hawker Spectre in the Peacekeeper forces and elsewhere, but many Allied member nations continued to keep an inventory of these aircraft nevertheless. As such, the Hawker Spectre continues to be used even after World War III. The most recent conflict it has seen is Vietnam; with the deployment of Allied Reservist forces to the war-torn country, Hawker Spectres have seen action in the theatre, favoured over other ground attack planes for its all terrain VTOL capability, an advantage in the mountainous tropical terrain of Vietnam. Recently, Hawker Spectre squadrons have also been making use of CBU-45 napalm bombs with considerable success, though this has also turned into somewhat of a public relations nightmare for the Allies. Category:Units Category:Units Originating from the United Kingdom